Health Benefits of Mango

An ancient fruit and arguably the most popular in many parts of the world, mangoes are in the same family of plants as pistachios and cashews, which are also tropical, fruit-bearing trees that can grow up to 100 feet in height. Oval in shape and around five inches long, mangoes are heavy because of the single, large seed or stone in the middle, which makes them a drupe.

One cup of mangos has 100 calories. The same amount provides 100% of your daily vitamin C recommendation for promoting healthy immune function and collagen formation, and 35% of your vitamin A, important for vision, bone growth, and maintaining healthy mucous membranes and skin – plus, it’s shown by clinical studies to help protect your body from lung and mouth cancers.

The potassium in mangos is an important cell and body fluid component to help control your heart rate and blood pressure. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is required for GABA (an inhibitory neurotransmitter) hormone production within your brain. It also controls homocysteine levels within your blood, which may be harmful to your blood vessels and may cause stroke. Required for the production of red blood cells, copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c oxidase and superoxide dismutase.

One cup of mangos provide 12% of your daily dietary fiber, which not only helps keep your system running smoothly, but also shortens the time waste spends in your colon, reducing the risk of colon cancer
Mangoes are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They are also an excellent source of dietary fiber and vitamin B6, as well as a good source of vitamin A and vitamin C. They are rich in minerals like potassium, magnesium and copper, and they are one of the best sources of querctin, betacarotene, and astragalin. These powerful antioxidants have the power to neutralize free radicals throughout the body.

Mango is good for Heart Diseases — Mangoes contain Beta-carotene, Vitamin E, Potassium and Selenium. All these are effective in making your heart healthy; especially the beta-carotene, which is useful for the cardiac patients. Potassium makes your heart, nerves and muscles to work properly. Mangoes also develop the immune system because vitamin C stimulates White Blood Corpuscles s to work more efficiently thereby destroy the bacteria and germs.

Mango reduces the risk of cancer — Mangoes contain polyphenol compounds as well as quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat, all are useful in reducing the risk for different types of cancer.

Mango controls blood pressure — Mangoes having low glycemic index, that maintains the blood sugar level. It balances the fat levels too. The presence of potassium regulates the blood pressure and fluid mechanism in the body. It also solves the problems of diabetes.

Mangoes for glowing & shining skin — Mangoes are rich in Vitamin A which makes the skin soft and shining. When the pulp of mango is rubbed over the skin, it makes your complexion fair and maintains the moisture and make the skin glow.

Mangoes are good for pregnancy — Mango is useful fruit for pregnant women as it contain good amount of iron that enables to maintain the HB level and proper oxygen flow. It is suggested that problems during menstruation. Mango relaxes the muscles and prevent abortion due to presence of calcium and magnesium.

Mangoes for eyesight — The mineral, vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, C and E are adequately present in Mangoes. It also contains flavonoids, Beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. All these help to keep your eyes healthy, enhance your vision and prevent from various eye diseases.

Mangoes aid digestion — Mango is full of digestive enzymes like magneferin, katechol oxidase and lactase and helps to overcome the problems related with digestion. It has enough fibre that eases acidity and constipation. It acts like a cleanser for stomach and intestines. It also strengthens the liver.

Mangoes promote brain health — Mango, being a great source of iron and vitamin B6, is one of those ideal foods for brain health. Iron aids the normal functioning of your brain and vitamin B6 supports its cognitive development

Mangoes improve immunity — Being rich in vitamin C, mangoes play a major role in strengthening one’s immunity. Apart from vitamin C, mangoes also are a good source of zinc, which is important for maintaining the overall health of the immune system.

Mangoes boost bone health — The presence of vitamin A is what makes mangoes one of the good foods for bone health. The vitamin C in mangoes aids the formation of collagen, which has a role to play in the making of bones and connective tissues.

Mangoes improve hair health — Mangoes are rich sources of vitamin C, and hence promote collagen production for healthy hair. If you have dull hair and are wondering how to make it shiny, include vitamin A in your diet – it has scalp conditioning properties.

Having originated in East India, the Andaman Islands, and Burma, mangoes are popular across the world today. It is believed that way back in the 5th century BC, Buddhist monks introduced the fruit to Malaysia and Eastern Asia.

India is the leading producer of mangoes. But it has very little export as most of the produce is consumed within the country.

You can tell if a mango is ripe or not by squeezing it. Ripe mangoes give slightly with a gentle squeeze.

Mango trees can grow very tall, some as much as 100 feet. And more interestingly, mango trees can bear fruit for up to 300 years.

There are about 400 varieties of mangoes in the world today.

Mango Side Effects —

Allergies — Certain individuals were found to be allergic to mangoes. These allergies include contact dermatitis, food hypersensitivity, etc.

Itchiness, which can lead to other severe side effects — Also called the mango latex allergy, this causes extreme irritation at the angles of the mouth, lips, and the tip of the tongue. Severe cases can include vomiting, respiratory difficulties, and even diarrhea.

Though the fruits come with certain side effects, they are largely outweighed by the benefits. And what’s best – they are tasty and juicy, and there wouldn’t be a soul who doesn’t love them!